The last thing I remember was seeing the car in my peripheral vision and the impact before everything went black.
The first thing I registered after that was pain; shooting pain in my left arm and chest and my head feels like it's about to burst. Despite how much it hurts, I manage to open my eyes and as they focus, I realize that my driver door has caved in and my steering wheel is practically in my lap. A car accident…and I'm hurt. It's all too much to take in and I close my eyes again, trying to decide what I should do now.
"Miss, miss can you hear me?" The sound is far too loud and I wince in reaction.
"Oh thank goodness… Yes, she's conscious." His voice sounds like a mix of relief and concern. In fact, I could swear that I've heard it before. Turning my head in the direction of the voice, I catch sight of the back of a tall ginger-haired man on his cell phone talking to someone who must be an emergency operator. It's only when he turns to face me that I feel my breath catch in my throat from recognition.
It's him…
Tom…
Tom Hiddleston is standing just feet away, mouthing something to a young man I quickly recognize as his assistant, Luke, before he takes off towards the other car. Part of me wants to completely scream in excitement, but the pain coursing through my limbs is keeping me from doing little than moan. I hear him talking to the operator as my head starts to swim. "Yes, I saw the whole thing happen." he continues. "The other driver seems pretty banged up too. Just please get someone here as soon as you can. Yes, thank you."
As he gets off the phone, he then managed to open my passenger door and climbed into the front seat next to me.
"Don't worry. You're going to be fine." he said softly as he pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it to my forehead. When he pulls it away after a moment, I can see the blood stains on the cloth.
God, I'm bleeding… At least it explains the headache.
"I…I know you…" I mumble as I try to lift my head up and nearly cry out at the sudden pain.
"Don't try to move." he says quickly, pressing the handkerchief back to the wound. "We don't know how badly you're hurt."
I slightly nod as I settle back into the seat. "You know, this wasn't exactly how I hoped I'd meet you."
He gives me a smile and shrugs. "Well…"
"But then again, it's not every day the villain gets to be the hero." I add which prompts a chuckle from him.
"Well, every now and then the god of mischief will decide to behave."
As the pain starts to dull to an ache, I try to look for the other car. "What happened?"
"The other driver was texting. Ran the red light and hit you at full speed…" he replied and I swear could hear the slightest trace of venom in his voice.
I wanted to be angry at the other driver, but too much was going through my mind. My car looked to be completely totaled. I'd have to get a new one. No doubt I'd have to take off work for who knew how long. Not to mention that my little stuffed turtle, a gift from my niece that I kept on my dashboard, was missing. Numbers to call, papers to fill out…the whole thing was becoming more than a little overwhelming and I struggled to take a few breaths to keep myself from panicking…
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah." I nod and I realize I'm trembling. "Just trying to keep from freaking out…"
As if on cue, I feel his fingers intertwine with mine and gives them a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry. I'm gonna stay here until help comes for you."
And even though that's all he really can do for me, it's enough to slightly calm my racing heart.
"Thanks…" I mumble, trying not to cry in front of him until the tears finally push through and are racing down my face. "I…I'm scared…"
"Please don't cry darling." he says, his voice soft as he wipes away the tears from my cheeks. "Everything's going to be alright. Tell me, what's your name?"
I take a shaky breath to calm myself. "A-Amelia…"
"Amelia?" he repeats to which I managed a slight nod. "That's a lovely name. Makes me think of Doctor Who."
I smirked. "Yeah, but if you call me 'Amy', I'll…I…" My sentence cuts off as I feel the darkness creeping in the corners of my eyes and my head starts to drop.
"No no no…" I hear him say as I feel his hand squeeze mine tighter, trying to keep me conscious. "Come on Amelia. Stay with me… You've got to keep your eyes open. Tell me something about yourself."
"Only if you do the same." I smile.
"Deal."
And so we did. I told him about my family, my cat, my job, my dreams of being an actress and how he had inspired me. He told me a little about his family, about the new project he was filming in town; a modern day version of 'Pride and Prejudice' where he was playing Mr. Darcy and how he'd love to see me get into acting. After what seemed like forever, I could start to hear the sounds of sirens getting closer.
"That'll be the ambulance."
Only when the paramedics came for me did he let go of my hand as I was removed from the wreckage and placed on a stretcher, a neck brace keeping my head still. As they wheeled me towards the ambulance, I could feel my eyes growing heavy.
"Tom…"
"I'm here. Don't worry, I'm here…" I hear his voice cutting through the darkness as he takes my hand again.
It was when we reached the ambulance though that Tom was quickly stopped by one of the paramedics.
"I'm sorry Mr. Hiddleston, but it's 'family only'."
"But…"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to ask you a few questions about the accident." a police officer then adds.
Regretfully, he agrees as he let go of my hand. "You take good care of her, alright?" he said before following the officer.
"We'll do the best we can." the paramedic nods before shutting the ambulance doors and taking off towards the hospital, the wail of the siren in my ear before my world finally fades to black.
